Mark Conrad wrote:

Opinions regarding Yaesu FT-817ND transceiver?

The original 817 had a problem with batteries. The off switch did not
actually turn off the power and the finals being able to function
from 1.8mHz to 450 mHz went into oscilation and burned out.

Has this been fixed? The popular fix at the time was to remove the batteries
when the rig was not in use.

The biggest problem with the Yaseu is the tiny screen. The ICOM 703 has a
much larger screen. The 703 only goes up to 6m though.

The 706 does have the same frequency coverage as the Yaseu. You can adjust the
output power down to 5 watts, so it may be a viable option. It also has
a more features than the Yaesu.

If you are using it in a location where size and weight don't matter that
much and nor does the increased battery drain, it may be worth the
money for it so that you have 100 watt HF output if you need it.

The ICOM rigs include a removable front panel, so you can mount them
elsewhere and just have the control head at your operating position.

Looking at Universal radio the current price for a new rig is
$600 for the 817ND, $730 for the 703+ and $945 for the 706IIG.
So you have a big range of price, power and features to choose from.

The Yaesu is the grandson of the FT-290 and simlar rigs, which were
portable VHF/UHF multimode rigs, while the ICOM grew out of shrunken
HF rigs, the Kenwood TS-50 being the first. Surprisingly, Kenwood no
longer has anything to offer in that line.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
New word I coined 12/13/09, "Sub-Wikipedia" adj, describing knowledge or
understanding, as in he has a sub-wikipedia understanding of the situation.
i.e possessing less facts or information than can be found in the Wikipedia.